


The Las Vegas Strangler

by LilyK



Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: Gen, transcript
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28882374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyK/pseuds/LilyK
Summary: Starsky and Hutch are in Las Vegas to catch a serial killer who has strangled a string of chorus girls. What they don't realize is the prime suspect is an old high-school friend of Hutch's.
Collections: Starsky & Hutch Original Series Transcripts





	The Las Vegas Strangler

THE LAS VEGAS STRANGLER

Season 2, Episode 1

Written by: Michael Fisher

Directed by: George McCowan

Created by: William Blinn

Summary: Starsky and Hutch are in Las Vegas to catch a serial killer who has strangled a string of chorus girls. What they don't realize is the prime suspect is an old high-school friend of Hutch's.

Cast:

David Soul ... Det. Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson

Paul Michael Glaser ... Det. Dave Starsky

Antonio Fargas ... Huggy Bear

Bernie Hamilton ... Capt. Harold Dobey

Paul Burke . .. Lt. Ted Cameron

Frank Converse ... Jack Mitchell

Lynda Carter ... Vicky

Joan Blondell ... Mrs. Pruitt

George Tobias ... 'Ace'

Foster Brooks ... Drunk Gambler

Darrell Fetty ... Eugene Pruitt

Roz Kelly ... Iris Thayer

Victoria Wells ... Sharon Flynn (as Victoria Ann Berry)

Colette Bertrand ... Glenda

Jayne Kennedy ... Gretchen Hollander

**Interior** **\- Night -** **Casino** **Backstage**

TRACY: Uh, Grable, Grable, Grable. George Brent. 

IRIS: Barbara Stanwyck. 

GLENDA : Uh, uh, uh. no good. I already used Barbara Stanwyck, remember? 

IRIS: When did you use Barbara Stanwyck? I don't remember you using Barbara Stanwyck. 

TRACY: Yes, I did. I said Helen Twelvetrees, you said Tom Brown, and I said Barbara Stanwyck. Get it?

IRIS: All right, all right, all right, an S to me. 

GLENDA : Not an S, dummy, a B: George Brent. 

IRIS: Dummy?

GLENDA : B

IRIS: D, D, Dummy. All right.

TRACY: B, B, 

IRIS: Give me a B.

TRACY: Brent.

IRIS: Barry Fitzgerald. 

TRACY: Hurray.

IRIS: Hurray.

TRACY: Hurray. 

IRIS: Listen Darling, how about a ride home? Just my feet, not my body. 

TRACY: I wish I could, really, but I can't. My sister's got my car. I'm walking myself. 

  
  


**Exterior - Night - Casino Parking Lot**

IRIS: Another day, another dime. All right.

TRACY: Okay, I'll see you tomorrow night. 

IRIS: All right, then.

TRACY: Take care.

IRIS: Barbara Stanwyck.

TRACY: Who's there? Is anybody there? I said, is somebody there? 

  
  


**Interior - Day - Squad Room **

HUTCH: That's a fantastic idea.

STARSKY: Aw, come on. 

HUTCH: I'm into poetry.

STARSKY: Behold the desert prince. 

HUTCH: Hey, that's good. 

STARSKY: No, dummy.

CAMERON: Starsky, Hutchinson. 

HUTCH: Yeah, Lieutenant. What are you doing down here from Vegas, huh? 

CAMERON: Believe it or not, I came down here to see you two. 

STARSKY: How thrilling.

DOBEY: Okay, Cameron. We might as well get this thing started. Starsky, Hutch, in my office. 

HUTCH: Let's go.

STARSKY: I smell a rat.

DOBEY: How many times have I told you about that?

STARSKY: Sorry, Cap. I'm working on it. 

HUTCH: What's this all about, Cap? 

DOBEY: Lieutenant Cameron here will answer all your questions. 

Cameron: Well, I suppose you're all wondering why I asked you to gather here. Okay, I'll come straight to the point. It seems we have a maniac roaming our streets in Las Vegas. One who believes that strangling showgirls is a worthwhile hobby. Here, take a look. He's already killed four. All four girls worked in different shows. All four were found in different locations. 

STARSKY: Doesn't leave them very pretty. 

CAMERON: Killing's only part of it. You should see what he does to them after they're dead. 

HUTCH: Why are you telling us all this? 

STARSKY: I see two thirsty souls trudging through the desert toward a neon city.

CAMERON: Well, in the past, you've always been helpful to our department when our cases brought us here. So I thought it was only right that we give you a chance to see our fair city. I filed a request with your chief yesterday afternoon. 

DOBEY: And it's been approved. All we need is for you to agree. 

STARSKY: Wait a second. Just wait—wait a minute, Cap. Putting aside personalities and the fact that Hutch and I and the lieutenant here don't exactly sing in harmony, something doesn't make sense. I mean, the Las Vegas Police Department is supposed to be one of the best in the country. 

CAMERON: Yes, but we're a small department, in a small town where almost everybody knows everybody else. Now, right now, we've got a psycho on our hands. And that could be anybody in the city. Fellas, I believe this is a time to put our personalities aside. Look, I need two good men who can go undercover. Two good men that I can be sure won't be recognized as cops. Well, what do you say? Are you in?

  
  


**Interior - Day - Duke's Used Clothing Store **

STARSKY: Hug, are sure these are the kind of clothes they wear in Vegas?

HUGGY: Am I sure? Starsky, you two guys are gonna look like the flash with the cash.

DUKE: That's right, that's right. 

HUTCH: You sure this tie isn't a little too bright? 

HUGGY: Bright? Bright? Everything in Las Vegas is bright. Bright is their national colors, Hutch. 

DUKE: That's right, that's right. 

STARSKY: I don't know, Hug. These shoes are kind of dubious. 

HUGGY: Oh, man, Starsky, you talking about the George Raft look.

DUKE: That's right, that's right.

HUGGY: In fact, if I didn't know better I'd guess you two guys were a couple of high rollers who just stepped off the plane from Las Vegas this minute. 

DUKE: That's right, that's right. 

HUTCH: Yeah, well, that I can believe. Dressed like this, they probably would've run us right out of town. 

STARSKY: I don't know, Hutch. Cameron said he wanted us to look like a couple of tin-horn turkey's on a gambling spree.

HUTCH: Yeah, well, all I'm saying- Oh, man. All I'm saying, Starsky, is do we have to dress quite this loud? 

STARSKY: Well, ask Duke here. He's spent a lot of time in Vegas. 

DUKE: That's right, that's right. 

HUTCH: Is that right?

DUKE: That's right, that's right. 

STARSKY: Besides, I'm kind of getting to like it. 

HUGGY: Mm-hm.

HUTCH: You look ridiculous. 

STARSKY: What do you know?

HUGGY: Hey, Duke, just between friends, when was the last time you was in Las Vegas? 

DUKE: About 1946.

HUGGY: That's right, that's right.

DUKE: That's right.

  
  


**Exterior - Day - Road Trip to Vegas **

STARSKY: It says here this whole town is open 24 hours a day. You know what that means? That means that nothing ever close. Supermarkets, barbershops, hardware stores. 

HUTCH: Well, you know, Starsk, they're probably all waiting for the air-conditioning repairman to show up.

STARSKY: Is that a joke?

HUTCH: Give me a sip of that, will you?

STARSKY: You don't take sips. Besides, it's all I got left. Stick to your coconut. You know, the more I read about Las Vegas, the more it seems like my kind of town. (Sings) _My kind of town, Las Vegas is..._ Now, listen to this. It says here that dice were the first things invented-

HUTCH: Starsk, would you mind not reading any more passages from that book? 

STARSKY: I'm just trying to broaden your horizons. 

HUTCH: Well, you've been broadening my horizons for the last 300 miles and I'm getting sick of it.

STARSKY: Yeah, well, this is interesting. Listen to this. It says here that dice were the oldest thing invented by man for the purpose of gambling. They were invented by a man by the name of Palamedes. 

HUTCH: That's Palamedes. 

STARSKY: Oh. 

HUTCH: What's going on?

STARSKY: Did you know that of every 100 cars crossing the desert 23.6 of them have engine trouble?

HUTCH: Did you get that out of a book to? 

STARSKY: No, that one I made up. Welcome to Las Vegas, high roller.

  
  


**Exterior - Day - Gas Station **

HUTCH: You can have it for me later today, huh? Cabbie, we'll be there in a minute. 

STARSKY: Come on, baby, come on.

HUTCH: Let's go, Starsk. 

STARSKY: Just give me a minute, okay?

HUTCH: Cab's waiting.

STARSKY: Just give me one minute. I got a feeling. This baby is about to pay off. 

HUTCH: You really got a feeling, huh?

STARSKY: Yep. 

HUTCH: That's the sucker's cry from here to Timbuktu. It's a machine, Starsk. Wheels and gears. How can you have a feeling from a machine? 

STARSKY: Well, what do you know?

HUTCH: Oh, come on, we're due down at Caesar's Palace. Cameron's probably for his desert legionnaires waiting for us. 

STARSKY: Let them wait. 

HUTCH: Starsky. What would your mother say if she say you now, huh? Her little sonny boy, caught in the throes of a gambler's mania. Starsky, it's pitiful. You, a grown man. Come on, Starsk, come on.

STARSKY: Just give it a minute, will you?

HUTCH: Come on.

STARSKY: What are you-?

HUTCH: Come on, let's go. 

STARSKY: Spoilsport.

**Exterior - Day - C aesar's Palace**

STARSKY: Will you look at this place? Huh, Hutch? I mean will you look at this place? 

HUTCH: Yeah, I might as well. I got a feeling everyone else in this place is gonna be look at us. 

STARSKY: Don't be so sensitive. No one's gonna pay any attention to us.

  
  


**Interior - Day - Caesar's Palace**

STARSKY: I mean, will you just look at this place? Look at it. Hutch. 

HUTCH: Yeah, I'm looking, I'm looking. It's freezing. 

STARSKY: Yeah, well, nothing, nothing's bothering me. I mean, did you ever feel like you'd just died and gone to heaven? 

HUTCH: This place have that kind of effect on you? 

STARSKY: Yeah. I got it, Hutch. I got that fever. That Vegas fever. Look. 

HUTCH: Hey, hey, come on. Come here. 

STARSKY: What're you doing? 

HUTCH: Look, I think you better give me the money. 

STARSKY: Huh?

HUTCH: The $200. I think you better give me the money. 

STARSKY: I just told you. I got a feeling. I mean, I'm gonna go out there. I'm gonna make a mint.

HUTCH: Starsky, you remember why we're here? 

STARSKY: Yeah.

HUTCH: We're on an assignment. 

STARSKY: I know that.

HUTCH: Lieutenant Cameron has probably already got us spotted. Now, we're supposed to take that $200, lose it, get in a fight and get thrown into jail. 

STARSKY: Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun. Look, Cameron never said why we were gonna get thrown in jail. 

HUTCH: Don't argue with me. In your- in your feverish state, I-I think you better give me the money. I mean, I can be cool and calm and get this thing done easily and quickly. Give me the money. Come on.

STARSKY: Okay.

HUTCH: You ready?

STARSKY: No. You can take care of yourself. 

HUTCH: All right. 

STARSKY: Good luck.

DEALER : No more bets, all bets are down. 

STARSKY: Chips, please. Chips.

DEALER: Chips for George Raft. 

STARSKY: Come on, come on, come on. Seventeen black.

DEALER: All bets down.

STARSKY: Come on, roll that ball, roll that ball. Okay. Seventeen, seventeen. Come home clean, seventeen. 

HUTCH: You just can't control yourself, can you? 

STARSKY: Well, we had to lose it and I had this feeling.

HUTCH: Yeah, I know this feeling, right? You know the mathematical probability of winning on the bet you just placed is 35 to 1. 

STARSKY: I know that.

HUTCH: Come on over here, let me-

STARSKY: What are you talking about? Wait a second. Will you just wait one second?

HUTCH: Come on.

STARSKY: Wait a second.

DEALER: Seventeen black, and we have the winner.

STARSKY: Whoa, whoa, we got a winner! We got a winner! We got a winner. Right here, put it right here. Right here, right here, right here. Oh, boy. 

HUTCH: You won, now we got more to lose. 

STARSKY: What are you talking-?

HUTCH: Now, why don't you let me handle it? Come on. 

DEALER: Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. 

STARSKY: Hey, Hutch, what are you doing? That's the whole thing, huh? Can't we just bleed it out a little at a time? Come on, now. We don't wanna bet all of-

HUTCH: Starsky.

STARSKY: Hey, what are you doing? 

HUTCH: Starsky, for your sake-

STARSKY: You're out of your tree. 

HUTCH: For your sake, it's better this way.

STARSKY: For my sake?

HUTCH: Yes. 

C OWBOY : Your dice, blondie. 

DEALER: New shooter coming up. 

HUTCH: All right, watch me lose. 

STARSKY: You're gonna bet this whole thing? 

HUTCH: All of it. 

GAMBLER: Seven, yeah.

STICKMAN: Winner seven.

STARSKY: Oh, you're much better. 

HUTCH: Wait a minute, it takes a little time, you know. I need a few minutes to warm up. It's not easy to lose it all at once. 

STARSKY: All right, look, you take all the time you want. Meanwhile, I'm gonna take half the chips and I'm gonna go place some roulette.

HUTCH: Hey, those are his chips.

STARSKY: Look, why don't you let me have a little fun, huh? You know, you're mean. You're really mean. 

GAMBLER: You can do it. 

STARSKY: You.

GAMBLER: Hey!

STICKMAN: Eleven. 

GAMBLER: Here we go. Here we go. 

STARSKY: Hutch? Hutch? Hey, this is Starsky talking. Zebra 3. 

STICKMAN: Winner, eleven. Pay the line. Place your bets. 

HUTCH: Quinine, the bitter dose. 

COWBOY: You can do it, Blondie. You can do it!

HUTCH: That's all right. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Don't touch my drink. Don't you know anything about luck?

COWBOY: Yeah, what's the matter with you? 

STARSKY: Hey, hey. What happened to all that talk about pitiful people in the throes of gambler's mania? 

HUTCH: Starsky, that was different. Don't touch my shooting arm.

STARSKY: What? 

HUTCH: My shooting arm. What do you do, wanna turn me cold? Okay, come on nine, come on. Come on nine, come on. 

STICKMAN: Nine. 

STARSKY: Well, let me ask you something. It's gonna be kind of difficult to accuse management of cheating, get into a fight and get thrown in jail if we end up breaking the bank. 

HUTCH: Well, what to you want me to do about it? Throw all this away? 

STARSKY: Well, it's not-

COWBOY: Listen, curly top. You trying to break his winning streak. 

STARSKY: Look, why don't you go suck on a watermelon or something? 

STICKMAN: Sir, are you gonna continue your roll? 

HUTCH: Starsky, I'm sorry. I'm on a hot streak. I can't stop now. One time. Shoot it all. 

STICKMAN: Sir, do you realize how much money you have on the line? You have over $9,000 there.

STARSKY: He realizes it. 

HUTCH: I realize.

STARSKY: He realizes it.

HUTCH: I wanna shoot it all. 

STARSKY: He's gonna shoot it all. 

HUTCH: I'm gonna shoot it all.

STARSKY: Yeah, for sport. 

STICKMAN: Place your bets, please. Some lucky shooter coming out. 

GAMBLER: Seven. 

STICKMAN: Seven.

COWBOY: Beautiful, beautiful.

HUTCH: Hey-

STARSKY: Excuse men, I just thought I was watering the backside of a horse. 

HUTCH: Starsky. Starsky, what did you do that for? 

STARSKY: Well, I figured if we couldn't get thrown into jail for being losers. 

(Fight ensues.)

GUARD: Pretty good for a little fella. 

STARSKY: I suppose it's a little late to get a bet down.

  
  


**Interior - Day - County Jail Cell**

STARSKY: Aw, come on, officer. Give a guy a break. What about our rights? Don't we get to make a couple of phone calls, huh? 

OFFICER: You can make all the calls you want as soon as you get out of here.

STARSKY: You're a regular warm person, Officer. 

OFFICER: You may not like me, son, but Jesus loves you. 

HUTCH: Oh, brother. 

STARSKY: That's a hell of a thing to say to somebody after you've locked them up.

HUTCH: How are we gonna spend $18,000 in here, huh? 

STARSKY: Cocoa-butter cream, $1.49 for five ounces. 

HUTCH: Well, that's a start.

STARSKY: Think he'd mind. You gotta take short breaths. That's the secret. 

HUTCH: Yeah, no, thank you. Hey.

STARSKY: What? 

HUTCH: Hey, Starsk, I think I know that guy. 

STARSKY: Him? 

HUTCH: Yeah, I think I went to high school with him. Hey, Jack? Jack Mitchell. 

MITCHELL: Bob- Ken, Hu-? Hutch. 

HUTCH: Jack Mitchell. 

MITCHELL: Hey, Hutch, what? 

HUTCH: Jack Mitchell, how are you doing? 

MITCHELL: What are you doing? Two minds on a single track. 

HUTCH: Yeah, I-

MITCHELL: What's that?

HUTCH: I, uh, took a pretty stiff right cross. 

STARSKY: Hell of a time for a class reunion. 

HUTCH: What are you doing here?

MITCHELL: Parking tickets or something.

HUTCH: Parking tickets? Same old Jack.

MITCHELL: Tear them up, stuff them in the glove compartment. These people aren't got no sense of humor. 

HUTCH: Tell me about it. Listen, I want you to meet somebody. David Starsky. Jack Mitchell. 

STARSKY: Hey, who're you doing?

HUTCH: When Jack and I were in high school. We used to be called what?

MITCHELL: Prince and the Pauper. 

HUTCH: Prince and the Pauper. 

STARSKY: I didn't know you were poor. 

HUTCH: Oh, I wasn't, but he was filthy rich. 

MITCHELL: Yes, disgustingly so. Uh, seriously-

HUTCH: What?

MITCHELL: What are you guys doing here?

HUTCH: Oh, Starsky and I are down here, uh-

STARSKY: Hitting the tables.

MITCHELL: Just gambling and bumming around. 

HUTCH: Bumming around. 

MITCHELL: Oh, for a minute I thought somebody was pu t ting on  G uys and  D olls. 

(on other side of two way mirror)

CAMERON: He almost slipped.

CLEVELAND: Well, Mitchell seems to be responding. 

CAMERON: Keep your fingers crossed. 

(back in cell)

MITCHELL: I don't know. With those suits on, I thought somebody was doing Guys and Dolls. If they could only see us back home. 

HUTCH: Take a look at you. 

MITCHELL: Take a look at you. No, really. This guy was class valedictorian. And we was voted the boy-

HUTCH: Most likely to succeed.

MITCHELL: Most likely to succeed.

HUTCH: And you were gonna be a doctor. 

MITCHELL: Yeah.

HUTCH: Did you ever make it?

MITCHELL: How long you been in town?

HUTCH: Well-

STARSKY: Well, we just came in this afternoon. 

MITCHELL: You're not settled? Terrific. You can move in with me. 

HUTCH: Hey, Jack that's really nice-

MITCHELL: I mean it. 

HUTCH: We can't do that-

MITCHELL: I really know this town. I can show you guys a good time. Besides, I'm all alone. I mean, how can you have fun if you're trying to have fun alone? Look, I mean- I mean it.

STARSKY: When do you want us to move in Jack? 

MITCHELL: Well, as soon as we get- today. As soon as we get out of here. 

HUTCH: Starsky, you know we got things to do. 

STARSKY: Well, you get argue with fate, Hutch. I mean, even in Las Vegas, what are the odds on a coincidence happening of two old high school buddies meeting in the city tank.

MITCHELL: He's right. You can't argue with fate. 

(on other side of two way mirror)

CAMERON: He's gonna blow it. Get him out of there.

(back in cell)

MITCHELL: As soon as we get out of here, you can move into my place. 

OFFICER: Hutchinson! Starsky! Front and cent er. 

HUTCH: Yeah. Hey, listen, Jack, it's really good to see you. Talk to you soon, huh?

MITCHELL: Right. 

STARSKY: Take it easy.

MITCHELL: See ya. 

(on other side of two way mirror)

STARSKY: Let me get this straight. What you're saying is that Hutch's old pal in there, the old high school buddy, the guy that just invited us to stay at his place, you suspect him of being the strangler? 

CAMERON: It's more than suspicion. I'd bet my life on it. 

HUTCH: This whole thing was a set up, wasn't it? All that talk about us being good cops. You just wanted us to help you bust Jack Mitchell. You know, I oughta tear your head off. 

CAMERON: When this is all over, is you still feel that way, you can have your chance. 

HUTCH: Cameron, you're all wrong. It's over right now.

CAMERON: Hutchinson! Hutchinson. That friend of yours in there, that guy you're being so loyal to. It's our strong feeling that he'd killed at least four women already. 

HUTCH: Well, if you're so sure of that, why don't you hold him for something stronger than parking tickets? 

CAMERON: Now, don't be cute. You know as well as I do that parking tickets was just a convenience to make sure he'd be here by the time you two guys arrived. 

STARSKY: Well, what have you got, Cameron? 

CAMERON: Got a lot of things. Not much one by one. But put them together with a cop's guy feeling-

HUTCH: A cops guy feeling, huh?

CAMERON: Don't tell me you never had one? Never played a hunch. Was never sure that somebody was guilty long before you could prove it. 

CLEVELAND: Mitchell knew all the girls who died, intimately.

HUTCH: That's still not enough to make him as a killer.

CAMERON: Okay. Footprints matching his size were found at the scene of two of the killings. Then, of course, there's his strange behaviour. 

HUTCH: Strange behaviour, huh? What's that supposed to mean? 

CAMERON: You asked him if he became a doctor. He did.

HUTCH: Yeah, so what? 

CAMERON: He's been a resident for two and a half years. And he just walked away from it all. Then, six and a half months ago he came here to Las Vegas. And he's been a one-man, non-stop party ever since. That's kinda strange. 

CLEVELAND: Look, you might ask yourself how we knew he'd insist on you two moving in with him. Now, besides being brought in twice for questioning on these murders, your friend has been arrested seven times since he's been in Las Vegas. Everything from standing stark naked on top of the Caesar's Palace sign to almost beating a parking-lot attendant to death for giving him the wrong change. During these periods of arrest, we've gotten a pretty thorough psychiatric profile of him. 

HUTCH: Yeah, excuse me, Lieutenant, who's he? 

CAMERON: This is Dr. Cleveland, our in-house psychiatrist. 

HUTCH: How do you do.

CLEVELAND: Look, what we found is that your friend suffers from extreme anxiety. One of his symptoms seems to be an almost hysterical fear of being alone. The other is a, uh, penchant for mindless violence.

STARSKY: Penchant? 

CAMERON: Look, Hutchinson. Now, I know I can't order you on this assignment. And I'll admit that I tricked you guys into coming here, but I am telling you that that guy in there is a psychotic killer. And only you and your partner, only you two, can stop him, right now. Do you understand that? 

HUTCH: Starsk?

STARSKY: Hm? 

HUTCH: He was my best friend. 

STARSKY: Then I guess we better stick with him. Because whether we prove him guilty or innocent, it's the best favor we can do for him.

HUTCH: Yeah, all right.

  
  


**Exterior - Night - Robert's Drugs**

STARSKY: Why'd you stop here?
    
    
    MITCHELL: I, uh... I gotta get some chewing gum, okay?
    
    HUTCH: Why not drive right on in?
    
    STARSKY: Really. My kidneys may never be the same, but I'm beginning to think you're right.
    
    HUTCH: About what?
    
    STARSKY: About your friend Jack. I mean, the way he drives, why bother strangling anyone?
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Robert's Drugs**
    
    MITCHELL: Mrs. Pruitt? 
    
    MRS. PRUITT: Here comes Mr. Sunshine.
    
    PRUITT: Ah, Ma, he ain't so bad.
    
    MITCHELL: Hey, Eugene. I'm glad I caught you. Nice.
    
    MRS. PRUITT: Oh, don't do that.
    
    MITCHELL: Did you make the deliveries yet?
    
    PRUITT: Well, not yet. What can I do for you, Mr. Mitchell?
    
    MITCHELL: I need some gum. I need $100 worth of gum, and I want you to make the deliveries.
    
    PRUITT: 100 dollars' worth of gum?
    
    MITCHELL: Right.
    
    PRUITT: Well, uh, we have a couple of cases in back. I could get those for you.
    
    MITCHELL: Let's see them. Let's go see them. You see, I got this buddy, and he's in the county jail.
    He's in the lock-up for three months, and he wants to leave the biggest gob in the world right under his bunk, see?
    
    STARSKY: Ma'am.
    
    
    HUTCH: We're going to a masquerade party.
    
    MRS. PRUITT: What are you going as next year? Ballerinas?
    
    HUTCH: "Are you sure these are the kind of clothes they wear in Las Vegas?"
    
    STARSKY: Everyone is entitled to a mistake.
    
    HUTCH: Yeah, sure. Now what is it?
    
    STARSKY: I'm about to float away.
    
    HUTCH: Well, hold on to it.
    
    PRUITT: I'm going on my run now, Ma.
    
    MRS. PRUITT: I hate that beard.
    
    HUTCH: Hey, excuse me, excuse me. Is Jack coming out?
    
    PRUITT: Uh, Mr. Mitchell?
    
    HUTCH: Yeah.
    
    PRUITT: He went out the back way.
    
    HUTCH: What?
    
    PRUITT: He flagged down a cab and took off.
    
    HUTCH: Oh.
    
    PRUITT: Bye, Ma.
    
    STARSKY: Some terrific cops we are.
    
    HUTCH: Yeah, well, why weren't you watching?
    
    STARSKY: What do you think I was doing? I was watching. You got his home address?
    
    HUTCH: Yeah, it's here some place.
    
    
    **Exterior - Night - Robert's Drugs**
    
    STARSKY: Well, why don't we go there?
    
    HUTCH: Where?
    
    STARSKY: His home.
    
    HUTCH: Oh, that's clever.
    
    STARSKY: Thank you.  Say, do you mind if we stop at a service station?
    
    HUTCH: Yes. Hold it.
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Robert's Drugs**
    
    MRS. PRUITT: Sixty-five cents.
    
    GRETCHEN: Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Pruitt.
    
    MRS. PRUITT: Tramp. 
    
    
    **Exterior - Night - Walkway Between Buildings**
    
    GRETCHEN: Oh, please don't hurt me, please!
    
    
    **Exterior - Day - Jack's Apartment**
     
    ACE: Like Benny used to say: "If God wanted men to walk around during the daytime, we'd all have been born with sunglasses on."
    
    HUTCH: Benny? Benny who?
    
    ACE: Benny Siegel, an old and dear friend of mine. May God rest his soul.
    
    HUTCH: Benny Siegel? Oh, you mean Bugsy Siegel, the old gangster.
    
    ACE: If you're gonna live here with Jack, don't ever let me hear you say that.
    
    HUTCH: Sorry.
    
    ACE: His name was Ben. Benny, for his friends. I was one of them. I used to cut his hair. I've been cutting hair for 47 years. I trimmed a lot of the big ones: movie stars, politicians, but Benny, he was the best.
    
    HUTCH: Yeah. Uh, you were gonna show us Jack's apartment.
    
    ACE: Oh, right there. But I told you, he ain't here. If he was here, everything would be open, playing phonograph records.
    
    STARSKY: Look, Ace. It's real important that we find Jack.
    
    ACE: Well, why didn't you say so before? A gal was around here looking for him this afternoon. 
    She wanted to invite him to a party. I don't know where, but her name is Vicky something or other. 
    She works in the big show over at the Thunderbird. 
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Backstage at The Thunderbird**
    
    SECURITY GUARD: Vicky? 
    VICKY: Yeah?
    
    SECURITY GUARD: These are friends of Jack Mitchell's.
    
    VICKY: Oh, have you seen him?
    
    HUTCH: Well, we were kind of hoping that you had. We understand that you, uh, tried to invite him to a party.
    
    VICKEY: Oh, yeah. I stopped by his, uh, apartment this afternoon, but he wasn't around. So I just left a message on his answering service.
    
    HUTCH: Um, Vicky, it's really kind of important that we find him. Do you have any idea where this party might be?
    
    VICKEY: Sure, it's at my place. Well, at least a friend's across the way. You know, I think I should like you.
    
    STARSKY: Me? Why?
    
    VICKY: You're embarrassing me.
    
    STARSKY: I'm embarrassing you?
    
    VICKY: It's just that we're so used to getting dressed and undressed around here. Men come in, and they either don't care or they leer. You're blushing. It's okay. Listen, the party is at the Palm Crest Apartments. 118-19th Street, and it's already started.
    
    HUTCH: Thank you very much.
    
    VICKY: You're welcome very much. Listen. The next time you see me, I will be dressed.
    
    STARSKY: Don't do anything on my account.
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Palm Crest Apartments**
    
    MITCHELL: Starsky!
    
    STARSKY: Look who's here.
    
    J ACK: Hutch! Over here.
    
    HUTCH: Jack!
    
    MITCHELL: Where you been?
    
    STARSKY: Where have we been?
    
    MITCHELL: You know Glenda? This is Glenda's birthday. That's what this is all about.
    
    STARSKY: Happy birthday.
    
    GLENDA: Thanks. Doesn't he talk?
    
    STARSKY: Him?
    
    HUTCH: Uh, many happy returns.
    
    GLENDA: I think my birthday wish just came true.
    
    HUTCH: Yeah, well, when you start opening your gifts, you let me know, huh?
    
    STARSKY: Hey, Jack, where'd you go to? We were looking all over for you.
    
    MITCHELL: I had things to take care of, all right? Come on, I'll get you a drink. Come on. 
    You know, this is my best buddy in the whole world. We went to high school together. And then, uh, you know, one summer we worked together as lifeguards at this resort. Hutch, because he thought he had to have a little money to get through high school, and me, because I thought, well, all the girls would be around there. And, also, I thought it might be a long time before I'd see my old buddy again. And, uh, it was a long time before I saw my old buddy. There's Janie. I'll be right back.
    
    HUTCH: Hey, Jack-
    
    STARSKY: Where's he going?
    
    HUTCH: Hey, listen, how long has Jack been here?
    
    GLENDA: Oh, not long. Maybe 10 minutes.
    
    HUTCH: Uh, I don't... Would you have a beer? Please?
    
    GLENDA: Sure.
    
    HUTCH: Thank you very much.
    
    STARSKY: Ten minutes. That leaves two hours unaccounted for.
    
    HUTCH: Yeah, well, I don't think we should press him. He's liable to run out on us.
    
    STARSKY: Mm-hm. What do you wanna do?
    
    HUTCH: Well, let's, uh... Let's stick around, enjoy the party, stick close to Jack until we have a chance to talk to Cameron.
    
    STARSKY: Do we have to?
    
    HUTCH: Well, why don't you take a nap?
    
    VICKY: Oh, hi.
    
    STARSKY: Hi. Look at you.
    
    VICKY: You like?
    
    STARSKY: Well, yeah.
    
    VICKY: Thank you. 
    
    STARSKY: You wanna take a walk? 
    
    VICKY: Uh... 
    
    STARSKY: Walk? 
    
    VICKEY: Sure. Let's go.
    
    STARSKY: Excuse us, please.
    
    PARTY GUEST: Bye.
    
    STARSKY: Ciao.
    
    
    **Exterior - Night - Palm Crest Apartments**
    
    VICKY: This is my little girl.
    
    STARSKY: She's terrific.
    
    VICKY: Yeah.
    
    STARSKY: Look at those eyes. How come she's got brown eyes and you've got blue eyes?
    
    VICKY: It's a freak of nature.
    
    STARSKY: Okay. Must be really tough working nights and having to take care of her.
    
    VICKY: My mother takes care of her. She has a place out in Boulder City. I keep that apartment
    mainly because, uh, working nights, 30 miles is too far to drive.
    
    STARSKY:  You see her a lot?
    
    VICKY: As often as I can. I just wish it was all the time.
    
    STARSKY: Hey. You gotta make a living. You gotta put the bread on the table. 
    
    VICKY: Or something. Thank you. I had fun tonight.
    
    STARSKY: Is that it? Is that the whole shooting match?
    
    VICKY: That's the whole ball of wax.
    
    STARSKY: Walk you up?
    
    VICKY: Well, if you do, we'll just spend the next 20 minutes to say good night.
    
    STARSKY: Who said anything about saying good night?
    
    VICKY: I did.
    
    STARSKY: You did. Okay.
    
    VICKY: Good night.
    
    STARSKY: Good night.
    
    VICKY: Good night.
    
    STARSKY: Hey. Don't fall in the pool.
    
    VICKY: I'll try not to.
    
    VICKY: Help! Help me! No! No!
    
    (Fight ensues.)
    
    STARSKY: Ahhh! Hutch, there!
    
    VICKY: Oh, God.
    
    STARSKY: Somebody call the cops. I think we caught the strangler.
    
    GLENDA: I hate to disappoint you, but he's no strangler. That's just Lloyd.
    
    STARSKY: Lloyd? Who's Lloyd?
    
    GLENDA: Vicky's ex-husband. Every time he gets a few too many drinks in him, he comes looking for her.
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Vicky's Apartment**
    
    STARSKY: Vicky?
    
    VICKY: Who is it?
    
    STARSKY: Me. David.
    
    VICKY: Hi.
    
    STARSKY: Hi.
    
    VICKY: You've got dry clothes.
    
    STARSKY: Mmm. One of the advantages of living out of a '59 Edsel. How you doing?
    
    VICKY: I'm okay.
    
    STARSKY: Yeah.
    
    VICKY: I was making some tea.
    
    STARSKY: With Scotch?
    
    VICKY: Well, I figured if Janis Joplin could drink it with Coke, why couldn't I drink it with tea? 
    
    STARSKY: That's what I like. A girl with a logical mind.
    
    VICKY: Would you like a cup?
    
    STARSKY: No, thanks. Can't stay. Jack's insisting on showing Hutch and me the real Las Vegas.
    Hello in there.
    
    VICKY: Well, if there's anyone that can do it, it's Jack.
    
    STARSKY: Mm-hm.
    
    VICKY: He knows more screwballs. What does that say for us?
    
    STARSKY: Well, if that's what it takes, I don't mind the company. You know, when I heard you scream thought the strangler had got you. 
    
    VICKY: One of my closest friends was one of the girls that got killed.
    
    STARSKY: Really? I'm sorry.
    
    VICKY: It was really strange. I think Tracy knew she was gonna die.
    
    STARSKY: How do you mean?
    
    VICKY: It was like she was having a premonition. She was really scared the last couple days.
    
    STARSKY: Of what? Anything in particular?
    
    VICKY: Well, it was kind of crazy. Tracy said that a couple of different times, she got this weird feeling that someone was in her apartment at night. Just standing there, watching her sleep. Then one night, she woke up, and she was sure that someone was in there. So she just laid there, afraid to move. Till finally daylight came, and there was nobody there. But the screen on one of her windows had been opened.
    
    STARSKY: Did she report this to the police?
    
    VICKY: No. She said that she'd feel stupid going to the police with it. They'd probably just claim
    it was her imagination.
    
    MITCELL: Hey, Starsky?
    
    VICKY: Oh, you have to go.
    
    STARSKY: Yeah. Look, don't you forget. I want you to lock the screens, the doors, the windows and the floors. Capice?
    
    VICKY: Capice. 
    
    HUTCH: Starsky. 
    
    VICKY: Are you kidding? The way my life's been going?
    
    STARSKY: Really.
    
    VICKY: You had better believe it.
    
    HUTCH: Come on, Starsk. Jack wants to show us the town.
    
    VICKY: Have fun.
    
    STARSKY: Now, that's a very dirty thing to say. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Lock it.
    
    VICKY: I will.
    
    
    **Exterior - Night - In the Edsel**
    
    HUTCH: You know, Jack, it's 4:00 in the morning.
    
    MITCHELL: Yeah, but that's when the real people come on. 
    
    
    **Interior - Night - A Club/Bar**
    
    HUTCH: Come on, Starsk, liven up! What happened to the guy who was never gonna go to sleep?
    What happened to "my kind of town"? Hey, Jack, come on. Get off the floor.
    
    STARSKY: When your friend runs out of gas, he really runs out of gas.
    
    HUTCH: You should talk. Hey, sweetheart. You were beautiful. (sings) Vegas is my kind'a town. 
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Jack's Apartment**
    
    STARSKY: Uh-huh.
    
    HUTCH: Get out of the way.
    
    STARSKY: I'm getting, I'm getting.
    
    HUTCH: Oh, what are you singing that song for?
    
    STARSKY: That happens to be the song John Wayne sang when he carried Victor McLaglen back to Maureen O'Hara.
    
    HUTCH: At 4:00 in the morning?
    
    STARSKY: It is 5:00 in the morning. This man does not exactly live in abject poverty, does he?
    
    HUTCH: Well, writing checks was one of Jack's family's favourite sports.
    
    ACE: Hey, you guys had a pretty good time, huh?
    
    STARSKY: Wing-ding. How you doing, Ace?
    
    ACE: Okay, Henderson, okay.
    
    STARSKY: Ah. He's Henderson. I'm Starsky.
    
    ACE: Sometimes I get mixed up with a face, but I never forget a name.
    
    HUTCH: Yeah, what's going on, Ace?
    
    ACE: The cops. They were around looking for you guys. A guy by the name of Macaroon.
    
    HUTCH: It's Cameroon.
    
    ACE: Cameron, Camer... Cameron. 
    
    ACE: Oh, yeah. Well, Camero... Cameron... wants you to see him
    in his office.
    
    
    **Interior - Night - Police Department**
    
    CAMERON: You did what?
    
    HUTCH: I told you. We lost him for about two hours. From midnight to around 2:00 in the morning. 
    
    CAMERON: And I was about to apologize. I want you to see something. Take a look at her. Her name was Gretchen Hollander. She was a chorus girl at the Dunes. She was 26 and beautiful. Until approximately 1:00 this morning, when you two duds were chasing around your phantom friend around this city. Hey, what the hell is wrong with you two?
    
    HUTCH: We made a mistake! Won't happen again.
    
    CAMERON: Mistake? Apparently, I made a mistake. And as far as I'm concerned, you can pack your bags.
    
    HUTCH: Hey, that's no good, Cameron. Because if Jack Mitchell is your strangler, we're still the best bets you've got to nail the man.
    
    STARSKY: He's right, you know. I'd say you're stuck with us either way, Cameron. I mean, who can you find that can get any closer than us?
    
    CAMERON: Okay. If he gets away from you again... If he commits one more murder...
    
    HUTCH: I told you. It won't happen again. If Jack Mitchell is guilty, we'll prove it and deliver him to you personally.
    
    CAMERON: Fair enough.
    
    HUTCH: All right.
    
    STARSKY: Hey, wait a second.
    
    HUTCH: What?
    
    STARSKY: I just thought of something. One of the girls that got killed... Her name was, uh, Tracy. 
    Now, she told a friend of hers that she had a strange feeling a couple of days before she was  strangled. Now, Tracy said that she felt someone had been in her apartment when she was asleep.
    Someone was just standing there and just watching her.
    
    CAMERON: That's fascinating.
    
    STARSKY: Yeah. Isn't it? Tracy said that she felt that someone had perhaps jimmied the screen
    to her window. Oh, boy. Look, I'd like you to find out if any of the other girls filed a report with the police to the same effect.
    
    CAMERON: That would be a waste of time.
    
    STARSKY: Oh? Humour us.
    
    End Part 1

  
  



End file.
